Chapter 14: CONVERGE

Kageyama

Of all the things he should be doing, Kageyama knows that loitering around the vending machines near the art room was not one of them. Especially since practice was currently in session and the Spring High tournament was lurking just around the corner, making Kageyama feel unsettled. He has never felt this way before a competition. Excitement, yes. Nervous, heck yeah. But amid those emotions there had always been the vivid anticipation of wanting the tournament to start and begging for it to come as soon as possible.

And yet now, he can't even picture himself standing on that court.

It's disgusting.

He thumped his head against the vending machine behind him. He knows that thinking about it won't change anything. He's resigned himself to the fact that what he felt... is unnatural. Regardless of what Nana-san might think, nothing good could come from these feelings.

So he told himself to get over it. The plethora of girls who came and went, who had declared their affections for him had moved on quickly enough. He was sure he would too. One day he'd look back on this and be rightfully mortified. Maybe even laugh at how silly his past self had been.

And yet.

A part of him didn't want to get over it. In his mind, volleyball had always been and will always be first. It was the only thing that mattered to him in a world full of noise and idle distractions. But Hinata Shoyo, short and clumsy to a fault, he was volleyball. He encompassed the very spirit, the very element of what Kageyama valued in the sport, and when he looked at the shorter boy, he saw a fiery blaze; too bright to ever look at directly but burning too brilliantly (beautifully, his mind supplies) for him to ever look away.

He shook his head.

It didn't matter what he thought. Hinata had made his feelings clear enough, had brushed Kageyama's aside as though it merited no attention.

And yet.

Damn it all if Kageyama didn't care.

So what if Hinata didn't feel the same way? Kageyama doesn't know what would become of these feelings of his; if it'll ever amount to anything, if it'll be nothing more than retribution for all those times he disregarded the endless confessions as nothing more than a nuisance.

What he does know, though, is that Hinata was struggling with something he's unwilling to share with the team. Something so distracting it was messing with the one thing he was most passionate about. But if Hinata doesn't tell him anything, how was Kageyama supposed to help him?

Kageyama shuts his eyes, a frown making its way to his brows. He hears the art club members chatting away, feel the minutes tick by, turning to hours. His joints feel stiff from the inactivity. When he opens his eyes again to look at the time, it is late... Practice would be over by now.

A couple of girls were passing by the area, squealing amongst themselves.

"And then Tsukishima-kun just carried him in his arms! I mean, he didn't look like the type-"

"Yeah but Hinata-chan is super small to begin with. Doesn't take much to carry him-"

And just like that Kageyama is on his feet. Blood rushed to his head, making him unsteady.

A memory of him standing on the court resurfaces.

A setter who's afraid to toss, what a joke.

And then a flurry of movement, so fast it was like seeing light.

"I'm here!" and he was, not knowing the impact those words had had on Kageyama.

Maybe it wasn't his place to pry, to meddle and to attempt to fix... whatever it was that bothering Hinata.

But damn it all if he wasn't going to try.

THE MOON

The unconscious boy looked peaceful in the folds of the sterile, white blankets. Tsukishima used this time to observe him and noticed how pale his skin was, how bruised the underside of his eyes looked.

He ran some theories in his mind, all of which were equally appalling and unbelievable. Had Hinata's relationship somehow turned abusive? Had he been hurt by the older man? And if so, why hadn't Hinata sought help?

Romantic relationships had always been a mystery for him. Sure he had had his fair share of confessors (none of who were genuine in their disposition, he was sure) but it always seemed like more trouble than it was worth. And his peers who had talked of love... what did they know of love? The bespectacled boy crossed his arms and leaned against the metallic chair, then looked at the ceiling.

Either way, he would never know for sure until he heard it from Hinata himself. There was nothing to do but wait. The hours ticked by.

The blond boy had decided to stretch his legs a bit and walked to the window, glancing outside, when the shorter boy suddenly gasped awake. Hinata looked around the room in a frenzy before he noticed Tsukishima's relaxed position. Hinata halted, and then seem to collect himself.

"You're awake." Tsukishima said redundantly.

He received a weak smile in return.

"I don't remember how I got here." Hinata said.

"You fainted so I carried you." He deadpanned. The shorter boy turned an impressive shade of pink, clearly embarrassed. "It doesn't matter," Tsukishima waved it away easily. It was the least of his concerns anyway. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed before Tsukishima spoke again.

"About that man..." Hinata flinched at this. Maybe he had been hoping for Tsukishima to pretend it never happened, or to at least never bring it up. If it was anyone else, would Tsukishima have let it go? Maybe, maybe not. But watching this whole thing mess up Hinata (and subsequently the entire team) was getting too frustrating. So Tsukishima, despite never having meddled in anyone's personal affairs before asked, "Is he forcing you to do this?"

Hinata presses his lips together, forming a hard thin line. He doesn't look at Tsukishima but with the way his shoulders tensed defensively, the taller boy knew he hit a sore spot. That was, until Hinata spoke.

"It's just a fling." The boy then turned further away from Tsukishima, as though he didn't want to be seen. Tsukishima felt the frustration from the past few days steadily coming back, as though it circled overhead like vultures.

"Bull. Shit." He gritted out. "You're obviously unwell and stressed, and given the fact that you vomited-"

As quick as it was unpredicted, Hinata flung a pillow straight at Tsukishima, the taller boy barely having time to block it with his arms. The pillow flopped to the ground, giving a clear view of the fiery-headed boy who was panting on the bed.

"What do you want me to say," He all but whispered, "that I liked it? That I wanted it?" He looked up and Tsukishima recoiled at his expression. "Say Tsukishima, have you ever even had sex before?" It was said like a taunt, like mockery. It did not sound like Hinata at all.

But then the smaller boy blinked, once. Twice. As though only just waking before he turned away. Had Tsukishima been paying attention, he might've noticed the horrified look marring the boy's face. But Tsukishima was still reeling from the crude remark, an angry blush forming on his face.

His pride didn't deem to answer the question so haphazardly thrown to his face, so instead he says: "You were the one begging me not to tell the team," Cold anger manifesting within him, "and then fainted right there before me. So forgive me for asking about your wellbeing like any normal person would."

"You wouldn't understand..." Hinata said, still looking away. "Besides, what I do with my own time does not concern you."

"It does when you're clearly messing up everyone's pace in practice."

The fiery-headed boy gritted his teeth.

"Volleyball, volleyball... Every. Single. Time." He has a manic look in his eyes and when he turns to face the bespectacled boy, all Tsukishima sees is condescension. "Is that all you guys can see?"

The dark, coiling emotion that Tsukishima had ignored came crawling back with a vengeance. The feelings grew worse, fueled by the fact that he couldn't give an indifferent retort. Hadn't he said the same thing just a few months ago?

Instead the bespectacled boy felt a haughty smile make its way to his lips before he even realized it.

"Well if being a horny teenager is all you can see, don't mind the rest of us peasants then. Maybe all that sex is clogging your miniature brain. Don't deny it, I saw you walk inside the love hotel yesterday." He doesn't know why he felt compelled to mention it to smaller boy. Maybe he wanted to get back at him in some way, but the flinch he received was not nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be.

The smaller boy kept quiet. From where he stood, Tsukishima couldn't quite see the spiker's face, but if Hinata fisting the bed sheet was any indication, then it was only a matter of time before Hinata exploded. There was silence, made up of all the unspoken things Hinata have yet to say.

Then the door swung open, revealing their out of breath setter as he comes bursting in.

Kageyama zeroed in on Hinata, worry etched on his face as he sees the shorter boy sitting on the bed.

"Are you alright? Is this why you skipped school and practice?" And though he meant well, his timing couldn't have been worse. The fiery-headed boy visibly shook, having been pushed beyond his limit.

"Just leave me alone!" He yelled, his eyes shining. "What I do has nothing to do with the both of you!"

Baffled by the sudden outburst, Kageyama looked at Tsukishima with confusion. The taller boy looked away, still upset and angry at Hinata's offhanded comments. Kageyama, instead of adhering to the mood and dropping the discussion comes on stronger, trying to reason with Hinata.

"We're teammates." He said, as though that explained everything. The dark haired boy walked hesitantly towards the shorter boy, "I don't know what's going on right now... but I know that much. We're supposed to stick up for each other- and people are counting on us. On you." But then Kageyama stops short, seeing the expression on Hinata's face.

"I don't care." He said flatly. The words died on Kageyama's tongue. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Tsukishima clenched his fist, seeing red. The smaller boy seemed oblivious to these changes within his teammates as he looks up at Kageyama and droned on, "I don't care about volleyball." Kageyama freezes.

A moment passes. The stunned look on the setter's face is then replaced with a perplexed frown. As though he couldn't quite comprehend what Hinata had just said. Like starting on a familiar problem only to end up with the wrong answer.

"What are you saying? Volleyball..." He grabs Hinata's shoulder, wanting to shake some sense into the smaller boy. "Volleyball is everything." And Hinata has this unfocused look in his eyes when he says,

"Maybe if you're obsessed. Maybe if you have nothing better to do with your time."

And Tsukishima just snaps.

"So whoring yourself is better?"

The regret he feels is instant.

A niggling voice in the back of his mind berates him heavily, telling him he's let his emotions run loose again. The smaller, fiery-headed boy elicits a sharp exhale, as though he's had the wind knocked out of him. As though his lungs refused to supply him with air.

And suddenly Tsukishima is all too aware of Hinata's trembling shoulders, of the way his eyes shuttered closed; as though to reject whatever it was going on at the moment.

At Kageyama's shocked expression, Tsukishima was about to say something to offset his earlier comment, but Hinata was already shaking Kageyama's hand away and pushing himself off the bed. Hinata stood up and only when the smaller boy had distanced himself from the two of them, did Tsukishima notice the subtle limp, the guarded way he hugged himself.

"Stay away from me." He whispered. "If you're all so fucking worried about the tournament, then I'll resign from the club and you can find someone else to replace me."

The infirmary door swung open, revealing the nurse.

"Ara, why are all of you here?"

Hinata visibly grits his teeth before adamantly walks away. Kageyama quickly got a hold of his arm, stopping him on his tracks.

"There's no one like you." Kageyama said. Tsukishima had never heard him sound like that, strained and desperate.

The shorter boy yanked his hand away.

"Then find someone better then." And without bothering to look back, he stalked out the door.

Kageyama runs after him while Tsukishima stayed behind to explain to the nurse.

Suffice to say that everything was a mess.

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Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update! My laptop's screen went haywire, had to send it to the shop but it's okay now! My laptop screen is perfectly peachy and my wallet is lighter that when I splurged on my PSvita. ... This christmas would be a sad one. I apologize to family and friends who would receive bargained items I got online. Please forgive me.

Beta-creds once again jia . kameda :)

manga . geek . 3: Not quite there yet, I'm still a sadistic bastard for prolonging Hinata's torture. Gomendasai... m(_ _)m